19D - WORKFORCE PLAN 2017-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orange County Regional Plan LABOR FORCE EMPLOYMENT AND UMEMFLOYMENT DATA The California EDD measured Orange County's unemployment rate at 4.1% in September 2016, 1.2 percentage points lower than the state unemployment rate and 0.7 percentage points lower than the national unemployment rate. Orange County, which has the lowest unemployment rate in Southern California, continues to outperform its peers in job creation, adding 44,700 over the past 12 months. The Professional and Business Services, Education and Health Services, Leisure and Hospitality and Construction industries experienced the most rapid growth over that period, respectively adding 11,500, 9,300, 9,300, and 9,200 jobs since September 2015. Orange County's total labor force grew to a total of 1,636,400 Individuals as of September 2016, surpassing July 2008's historical peak of 1,625,600 participants by more than 10,000. June and July, as previously mentioned, saw a spike in labor force participants that temporarily drove up the county's unemployment rate. The timing of this influx suggests that many of these new participants are recent college graduates; the educational attainment of these individuals has, thus far, helped them find employment, as unemployment rates fell in August and January of this year. INDIVIDUALS WITH BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT The OC Region recognizes the importance of improving connections for Individuals with barriers to employment and training opportunities. The economic downturn has left increasing numbers of workers seeking additional hours or juggling multiple jobs to make their income goals. Access to ad -hoc employment can be essential to enable studying or increasing a worker's competitiveness. Local hire of on- demand workers strengthens the fabric of communities. But traditional workforce development has focused only on full -time job placements. The OC Region includes a goal to expand beyond this to raising skills and quality that include both the traditional and flexible workforce. We aim to create cost - effective pathways from underemployment to sustainable employment that are personalized for each individual's circumstances. All activities and strategies developed in this OC Regional Plan commit to strengthening existing workforce development, education, and training opportunities to benefit individuals with barriers. Specific strategies for each local area will be described in the OC Local Plan, as prescribed and supported in the WIOA legislation by: • Increasing the focus on programs and services for the most vulnerable workers such as: low- income adults and youth, individuals with limited skills and work experiences, and individuals facing other barriers to economic success • Expanding education and training opportunities to help individuals gain the skills needed to get good jobs, keep good jobs, and advance in their careers • Helping disadvantaged and unemployed adults and youth earn while they learn through support services and effective employment -based activities • Increasing outreach, engagement, and services to those with limited basic skills and/or limited English proficiency • Aligning planning and accountability policies across core programs to supportt more unified approaches to serving low- income, low- skilled Individuals • An initiative to assist the underemployed EDUCATIONAL AND SKILLS LEVELS IN THE WORKFORCE Educational attainment provides the most useful tool for analyzing the average quality of job candidates, as there is a direct causal relationship between educational attainment and the acquisition of hard and soft skills. While this analysis fails to reflect many aspects of Orange County's workforce, it does provide a general overview of the skills available in the county's labor market. Educational attainment in Orange County continues to improve across the board. The number of residents with an Associate's degree or higher increased to 46.4% in 2015, while the number of residents with no high school diplomas has decreased, and the number of residents with some form of college training has also increased. While overall education levels show promising improvements, the fact that just over 15% of the population still lacks a high school diploma remains concerning. As the county continues to struggle with a skills gap in several major industries, efforts must be made to properly educate and train all residents with the skills needed to fill these positions. This not only strengthens the financial stability and quality of life for those residents as well as the county's overall economic performance. Page 9 199-24